The New Zealander writer and musician  Bill Direen‘s situationist exposé of current world political events:

The Utopians R Just Out Of Boozin’

The utopians are just out boozing
Mercy killing their sense of losing
Another century of Europa facing
Another gangland of mephistos embracing
Hardened enemies are friends this year
Designing bombs & announcing clear
Resolutions, shaking hands,
Aiming drones over African lands.

All interventions have a second motive
The food is free, but the aid is loaded.
War medallions, better blow the dust off
Tools of torture, better scrape the rust off.
Every country has its Kremlin
Every religion has its Vatican
Be your boss, but bring your boffin
Visit the moon in your cryo-coffin.

A little bribery is always convenient
Wherever justice might be lenient.
A new breed is making gold from dirt
The writer vomits down his last tee shirt.
The new geneticists o! they cut and suture
The free market guarantees their future
As antique lands are blown to splinters
A spring uprising keep us warm next winter.

The madhouses have rainy eyes.
The sane willingly tranquilised.
Psychiatrists are sporting their i-phones
Individualists are carving up their headstones,
All the goddesses are in Hades,
All the gentlemen are in the Ladies,
Beadles gleam as years in jail
Are meted out to kids who fail.

The poem will be released on his bands’ brand new record. Thank Bill for the words.

The author plays on his guitar and sings his another song on the seaside here.

He has begun his career in the mid-70s as folk singer and stepped in the New Zealander punk, indie-rock scene with electronic music. His most known groups are the Bilders.

About his music works          About his literary works

YOU. is the name of a band in New York. Just try to search it on the net… Their music is better. Cold but danceable synth punk a la Digital Leather and New Order

Sunchaser LP + digital on Dais Records (US)

*

The BILDERS are groups of various musicians and friends from New Zealand, Australia, United States, Germany, Austria and France. In 2013 there were 3 different line-ups, one in Australia, one in New Zealand and one in Germany. The New Zealander musician and writer Bill Direen stands in the centre of these groups. Their melodic minimal art pop is just like the Blurt.
Now here is a special 7″ vinyl with 3 tracks from 3 different line-ups. It consists a situationist exposé of current damn fool world political events: „The utopians R just out of boozin”; an appealing ballad plus a simmering live extract from a recent European tour. The ballad is like a song by Mick Harvey

SmartGuy Records (US)

In the NZ-er band the drummer is Stu Kawovski (Stuart Page), who also in the best alternative pop band of New Zealand, The Axemen.

New Zealand for me: sheep, Hillary, the big beer boycott of Greymouth, continuous earthquake, Flying Nun and Axemen

The newest band there is the Avoid! Avoid! It’s a psychedelic, kraut rock inspired trio from the Baseline Rd

The BILDERS are groups of various musicians and friends from New Zealand, Australia, United States, Germany, Austria and France. It had/have various line-ups. The New Zealander writer and musician, Bill Direen stands in the centre of the groups. Their alternative melodic minimal pop is like the Blurt.

TOO MUCH MUCH

A 7″ vinyl with 3 songs will be released late summer/early fall on Smart Guy Records (US). One of his drummers is Stu Kawovski (Stuart Page), who also in the best alternative pop band of New Zealand, The Axemen

mysterious noisy lo-fi garage pop punk project in New Zealand
inspired by teen romance, suburban boredom and Buddy Holly

PERFECT HAIR FOREVER – SAD & BLUE

from Zero EP by Crystal Magic Records.

Critical Hits! Free download V/A album
is full of various high standard lo-fi synth punk by Crystal Magic.

French For Rabbits. Wonderful haunted dream-folk from the other side and/or New Zealand.

7″ on Lefse (US, West Coast) and Fat Possum Records (US, South)

Euro tour in May-June. Vienna: May 29. Zagreb: May 30.

*

It’s so unfortunately and stupid name as good indie poppy noisy garage rock. Very.

Debut album by Belgian Mountain Bike on Humpty Dumpty Records (Belgium)

Brilliant name, music & video(s)
THE ADMIRAL – Bother Me

from their split 7″ with Cool Runnings by 1:12 Records, New Zealand.

Cool Runnings’ track

„Self Employment is the key to an early grave, I see this in lots of musician friends of mine as well. You are your own travel agent, your own booking agent, your own photographer, your own graphic designer, your own manager, your own producer… on top of that you are a musician. With my show I am the drummer, singer, guitarist and sometimes harmonica player, you could say it is not a way of life, it IS life”.

A wanderer bluesman on Robert Johnson’s path
from Christchurch, New Zealand

DELANEY DAVIDSON – Big Ugly Fish

from the album Swim Down Low on Outside Inside Records (Italy). His previous two albums were released by Voodoo Rhythm Records (Switzerland).

Euro tour: May, July-Aug. Vienna: May 10

Bulbul started as a one-man band with guitar, drum machine and vacuum cleaner in Austria. It became a trio. They speak numerous musical languages from jazz to metal. They did cooperation with Leonid Soybelman (Ne Zhdali, Kletka Red), KK Null (Zeni Geva). Horribly funny music.

„Hirn fein hacken” album on Exile on Mainstream (Germany)
and Rock is Hell Records (Austria)

Some shows in Austria, Germany, Czech and Switzerland

*

Carsick Cars are among the leading alternative Chinese rock bands. They describe themselves as noise rock band, but the measure of noise shows low degree. (Perhaps the Chinese notion about noise differs from the Western conception.) Soft Sonic Youth-like, Velvet Underground influenced indie rock with Chinese motifs on a surprisingly good album which was co-produced by Hamish Kilgoure from The Clean! (Influential New Zealander indie rock band.)

„3” album via Maybe Mars (China) and Tenzenmen (Australia)

Their side projects: 1. White+. Kraut-like electronic duo. First CD was produced by Blixa Bargeld (Einstürzende Neubauten, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds).
2. One of my fav Chinese bands: Snapline. Post punk trio. Debut album was produced and released by Martin Atkins (drummer of PIL, Pigface and many more).

An interview about the Chinese musical underground

RNRXPRESS is our brand new series. Express opinion on the basis of only one listening.

SACRED PRODUCT

Holy shit! Real Butthole Surfers sound and feeling by a Melbourne based New Zealander satanic rocker. 4 songs, 4 stories

Thirsty River – After too many beverages one night I subconsciously rode my bike into the river…   Public (shopping) Holiday – Wrote this one last Anzac day – it’s a good day to go shopping, although most of them are closed.   Touchscreen – Are social networks gonna end up as apocalyptic meat markets in the near future?   Sick Day – No blood, no loss of limb or broken bones but some invisible mechanical human component failure….

Blessed work. We praise it.

Sacred Product double 7inch out now.      RNR666 interview with Lynton

The materials get into this post by absolutistic decision, impulse or request

The Attic is above a disco club on the main street of the southern town of Dunedin, New Zealand. Established in 2011 as a workspace for a group of artists who no longer wanted to work from their bedrooms. The place has evolved into a makeshift recording studio, practice space, gallery, workshop and a sometimes venue. Striving towards creative sustainability, The Attic is now a homespun cassette label.

On the first Tuesday of every month The Attic releases a new exclusive single by one of their favourite local artists. The A-side comprises an original recording of the band, the B-side is a cover nominated by The Attic residents. Both tracks are recorded in The Attic and delivered to your ears for free.  At the end of the year the collection will be compiled into one physical release. The second single (the first in this year) is made by a surprisingly good punk band, Ostrander Aardvark

Free download Ostrander Aardwark live at the Attic

Mystical oriental minimal garage beats by the 4 pieces Brooklyn based all girl band, Habibi

debut LP by Burger Records

*

Psychedelic guitar noise by the New Zealander experimental musicians, Antony Milton

This digital album is one long track split in two. It was recorded at the same time as his brand new album‘s session.